Japan, a brief sneak-peak of the report that will be coming later
Tadaima. Back to the land of eternal summer. I really miss Japan's weather (for the most part) now. I'm too lazy to type out everything right now, nor do I have the time but in case I forget, here's a brief list of things I did there:
Note: Unless otherwise noted, breakfast was all food from the convenience stores.
27 March
Left Malaysia. Airplane touched down at around 10.30-ish. Turns out deru was sending her parents off at the airport then so we met up with her and she took us to the hostel. There was a brief confusion with the luggage but we caught the last train to Asakusabashi station, which was close to Anne Hostel.
Unfortunately, it was the last train, so deru had to stay over (sorry!). Didn't realize we couldn't use the lounge after 12am as well, so the poor hostel manager (?) had to tell us to leave the room (or rather, he strongly hinted by being all hesitant at the doorway over something. Probably wondering if he should tell us.).
28 March
Borrowed deru's Protection Against the Cold Weather (aka a coat) to use in Kyoto. Had Anne Hostel's eggs and toast for breakfast and played with the vending machines outside. There were vending machines selling drinks and sometimes soup everywhere (the cheapest we found was in Osaka by the way. It was only 50 yen per drink. Weirdest was coffee with green tea flavour. I didn't try it.)
Used the JR Pass we got for the first time to shinkansen our way to Kyoto, where we stayed for most of the trip. Finding Hostel Mundo was a bit of a challenge as the person in Kyoto station gave us inaccurate directions. Also, I broke my nail at the station. -_-; And it rained. The post office was also a little unsure about the exact location of our hostel but by following post office's (general) directions, and then asking this kind lady along the way, it sort of worked. Found the hostel in one piece (yay for the dog as a landmark), dumped all our stuff, flipped a coin for the room (priestnobaka and I got the twin room while mistressnaoko and Windy got the tatami room). The hostel manager Yuuya-san was really nice.
Not wanting to waste the first day, we decided to head out to Gion and just walk aimlessly for the night to familiarize ourselves with the area. Our bus stopped right outside Yasaka Shrine so that was our first stop for the evening. The stalls inside were already closed but there were some vending machines within the shrine grounds. Went out from a different entrance and found Maruyama park. Unfortunately, the sakura there wasn't in bloom yet so oh well.
As we walked down towards Gion proper, we found the preserved streets in Gion: the Hanami-koji area. Food there was expensive (we didn't eat there due to that) but walking there feels like we traveled back in time. Found the Gion corner and made a mental note to drop by the next day as we missed the time-slot for the cultural performances.
We ate at this ramen shop near our hostel that night. It was pretty good, and the store owner obviously is very used to foreigners eating in his shop. He asked us to pose with our ramen and took pictures of that with one of our cameras. Later, he asked us to prepare our camera for the flaming negi ramen performance (literally flaming ramen XD).
29 March
This is the start of our mad scramble to GET TO ALL THE PLACES~ First stop of the day was Heian Jingu. It was apparently built based on the original Imperial Palace design back in Heian era only in smaller scale. Just outside the shrine, there was a giant torii gate. The shrine itself was rather spacious with a really large garden. Prayed at the shrine and bought some o-mamori. Got my fortune as well (see: omikuji). It was apparently a good fortune. Did not pay to enter the garden grounds as sakura has not quite blossomed yet.
Next, we went to Ginkakuji which wasn't actually silver. The path up to Ginkakuji had many small shops selling souvenirs and pretty/cute trinkets. Bought a fan on the way up. The first fan I liked was too expensive, so I had to settle for something cheaper but still quite pretty. I think I bought a pair of chopsticks on the way up too. Anyway, Ginkakuji has a sand garden and the walking path had some pretty sights. Did not pay to see the special exhibits. From there, we learnt that Ginkakuji was built by the grandson of the person who build Kinkakuji (which is actually golden, not that we went there to check it out ourselves). Left earlier than Naoko and Windy, so I tried the amazake and mitarashi dango sold just outside Ginkakuji while waiting for them. Amazake was a bit too sweet for my taste but the mitarashi dango was alright.
Had lunch after that in a small, rather hidden restaurant. The tofu there was delicious. I had ochazuke, which was okay (not a big fan of ochazuke, I think).
Third place we went to was Kiyomizu-dera (though we got distracted by Yasaka Pagoda on the way). Washed my hands at the purification fountain at the gates. The water was really quite refreshing. Anyway, we went in and saw some people trying to lift the three items at the entrance. The thing I enjoyed about Kiyomizu-dera was probably the view from the top. Got trolled by Koyasu Pagoda there. =/
In the evening, we made a return trip to Gion for the Gion Corner. We were a bit too early this time so we had to wait. The Gion Corner's performance covered tea ceremony, koto performance, flower arrangement, gagaku court music, Kyo-mai, kyogen and bunraku in an hour. I don't think I know how to appreciate bunraku other than being all in awe at the puppeteer(s), but the kyogen was pretty amusing and easy to follow.
Note: Unless otherwise noted, breakfast was all food from the convenience stores.
27 March
Left Malaysia. Airplane touched down at around 10.30-ish. Turns out deru was sending her parents off at the airport then so we met up with her and she took us to the hostel. There was a brief confusion with the luggage but we caught the last train to Asakusabashi station, which was close to Anne Hostel.
Unfortunately, it was the last train, so deru had to stay over (sorry!). Didn't realize we couldn't use the lounge after 12am as well, so the poor hostel manager (?) had to tell us to leave the room (or rather, he strongly hinted by being all hesitant at the doorway over something. Probably wondering if he should tell us.).
28 March
Borrowed deru's Protection Against the Cold Weather (aka a coat) to use in Kyoto. Had Anne Hostel's eggs and toast for breakfast and played with the vending machines outside. There were vending machines selling drinks and sometimes soup everywhere (the cheapest we found was in Osaka by the way. It was only 50 yen per drink. Weirdest was coffee with green tea flavour. I didn't try it.)
Used the JR Pass we got for the first time to shinkansen our way to Kyoto, where we stayed for most of the trip. Finding Hostel Mundo was a bit of a challenge as the person in Kyoto station gave us inaccurate directions. Also, I broke my nail at the station. -_-; And it rained. The post office was also a little unsure about the exact location of our hostel but by following post office's (general) directions, and then asking this kind lady along the way, it sort of worked. Found the hostel in one piece (yay for the dog as a landmark), dumped all our stuff, flipped a coin for the room (priestnobaka and I got the twin room while mistressnaoko and Windy got the tatami room). The hostel manager Yuuya-san was really nice.
Not wanting to waste the first day, we decided to head out to Gion and just walk aimlessly for the night to familiarize ourselves with the area. Our bus stopped right outside Yasaka Shrine so that was our first stop for the evening. The stalls inside were already closed but there were some vending machines within the shrine grounds. Went out from a different entrance and found Maruyama park. Unfortunately, the sakura there wasn't in bloom yet so oh well.
As we walked down towards Gion proper, we found the preserved streets in Gion: the Hanami-koji area. Food there was expensive (we didn't eat there due to that) but walking there feels like we traveled back in time. Found the Gion corner and made a mental note to drop by the next day as we missed the time-slot for the cultural performances.
We ate at this ramen shop near our hostel that night. It was pretty good, and the store owner obviously is very used to foreigners eating in his shop. He asked us to pose with our ramen and took pictures of that with one of our cameras. Later, he asked us to prepare our camera for the flaming negi ramen performance (literally flaming ramen XD).
29 March
This is the start of our mad scramble to GET TO ALL THE PLACES~ First stop of the day was Heian Jingu. It was apparently built based on the original Imperial Palace design back in Heian era only in smaller scale. Just outside the shrine, there was a giant torii gate. The shrine itself was rather spacious with a really large garden. Prayed at the shrine and bought some o-mamori. Got my fortune as well (see: omikuji). It was apparently a good fortune. Did not pay to enter the garden grounds as sakura has not quite blossomed yet.
Next, we went to Ginkakuji which wasn't actually silver. The path up to Ginkakuji had many small shops selling souvenirs and pretty/cute trinkets. Bought a fan on the way up. The first fan I liked was too expensive, so I had to settle for something cheaper but still quite pretty. I think I bought a pair of chopsticks on the way up too. Anyway, Ginkakuji has a sand garden and the walking path had some pretty sights. Did not pay to see the special exhibits. From there, we learnt that Ginkakuji was built by the grandson of the person who build Kinkakuji (which is actually golden, not that we went there to check it out ourselves). Left earlier than Naoko and Windy, so I tried the amazake and mitarashi dango sold just outside Ginkakuji while waiting for them. Amazake was a bit too sweet for my taste but the mitarashi dango was alright.
Had lunch after that in a small, rather hidden restaurant. The tofu there was delicious. I had ochazuke, which was okay (not a big fan of ochazuke, I think).
Third place we went to was Kiyomizu-dera (though we got distracted by Yasaka Pagoda on the way). Washed my hands at the purification fountain at the gates. The water was really quite refreshing. Anyway, we went in and saw some people trying to lift the three items at the entrance. The thing I enjoyed about Kiyomizu-dera was probably the view from the top. Got trolled by Koyasu Pagoda there. =/
In the evening, we made a return trip to Gion for the Gion Corner. We were a bit too early this time so we had to wait. The Gion Corner's performance covered tea ceremony, koto performance, flower arrangement, gagaku court music, Kyo-mai, kyogen and bunraku in an hour. I don't think I know how to appreciate bunraku other than being all in awe at the puppeteer(s), but the kyogen was pretty amusing and easy to follow.